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Holiday Gift Guide 2018: Phones under Php5,000

Here goes the budget part of our Holiday Gift Guide — phones of different shapes and sizes but priced under Php5,000.

Yugatech 728x90 Reno7 Series

There’s no denying that the purchasing power of Filipinos has moved to the mid-range segment this year, but the entry-level phones are still a top choice for the common Juan as their first phone or backup device. We’re listing down phones and smartphones at different price points to identify what’s best for your hard-earned money for the holidays. Let’s take a look now, shall we?

Phones that are released this year make up our 2018 holiday guides.

Back to basics

Feature phones are always a go-to for those who do not want the extra frills and just need the calls and messages. This year, brands are releasing more than just candy bars and went to slides and flips. Here are some of our recommendations:

Starmobile UNO F301

  • 1.8-inch colored display
  • up to 500 Phonebook Entries
  • up to 300 SMS Entries
  • VGA camera with flash
  • GPRS
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby
  • Bluetooth
  • FM Radio with speaker
  • 600mAh battery
  • 110 x 53.2 x 21 mm
  • 82.5g
  • Php899

Cherry Mobile V5 and V6

  • 1.5-inch display
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby
  • Multimedia player
  • VGA camera with video recording
  • Bluetooth Dialer function
  • Php1,299

MyPhone my111x

  • 2.4-inch display
  • Multimedia Player
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby
  • VGA camera
  • Colors: Black, Dark Blue, Copper
  • Php1,299

Starmobile FeatureSmart EVO1

  • .4-inch color display
  • expandable via microSD up to 32GB
  • VGA camera
  • 4G VoLTE
  • Dual-SIM
  • FM radio
  • Bluetooth
  • Up to 200h battery
  • Php1,888 (Smart)

Alcatel 3026

  • 2.8-inch display
  • 128MB RAM
  • 256MB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD up to 32GB
  • 2MP rear camera with LED Flash
  • Quick access buttons (SOS, Torch, etc)
  • Hearing Aid compatibility (M4/T4)
  • Php2,490

Nokia 8110 4G

  • 2.4-inch QVGA display
  • 1.1 GHz Dual Core Qualcomm 205
  • 512MB RAM
  • 4GB internal storage
  • 2-megapixel rear camera
  • LTE Cat.4
  • Dual SIM (micro+nano)
  • WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.1
  • GPS, A-GPS
  • FM Radio
  • IP52 drip protection
  • Nokia Smart Feature OS (KaiOS)
  • 1500mAh battery
  • 133.45 x 49.3 x 14.8 mm
  • 118g
  • Black, Yellow
  • Php2,990

Backup phone options

This year, we saw more budget devices have one thing in common, and that’s the use of Google’s Android Go as the primary mobile software, While these seem to sport less hardware, the software itself is optimized for light to moderate tasks, which make them adequate backup devices. Here are our picks:

Cloudfone GO Connect Lite 2

 

  • 4-inch WVGA Display @ 800×480 px
  • 1.3GHz Quad-Core CPU
  • 512MB RAM
  • 4GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD up to 64GB
  • 5MP rear camera with LED flash
  • 2MP front camera
  • 3G HSPA+
  • Dual SIM (micro), Dual Standby
  • Wi-Fi,
  • Bluetooth 4.2
  • GPS
  • Android 8.0 Oreo (GO Edition)
  • 1,400mAh battery
  • Colors: Black and gold
  • Php1,699

 

myPhone myA11

  • 4-inch display
  • MediaTek MT6580M 1.3GHz Quad-Core processor
  • 512MB RAM
  • 4GB ROM
  • 5MP rear camera
  • 2MP front camera
  • Dual SIM
  • 3G
  • WiFi
  • GPS
  • USB OTG (MyPhone DTV Dongle Compatible)
  • Android Oreo (Go Edition)
  • 1,400mAh battery
  • Php1,899

Cloudfone GO SP 2

 

  • 5-inch FWVGA Display @ 854×480 px
  • 1.3GHz Quad-Core CPU
  • 512MB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD up to 64GB
  • 5MP rear camera with LED flash
  • 2MP front camera
  • 3G HSPA+
  • Dual SIM (micro), Dual Standby
  • Wi-Fi,
  • Bluetooth 4.2
  • GPS
  • Android 8.0 Oreo (GO Edition)
  • 2,000mAh battery
  • Colors: Matte Black and Rose Gold
  • Php2,199

 

Nokia 1

 

  • 4.5-inch FWVGA IPS display @ 480 x 854px
  • 1.1GHz quad-core processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage
  • 5MP rear camera
  • 2MP front camera
  • 4G LTE Cat.4
  • Wi-FI 802.11/ b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.2
  • GPS
  • Micro USB
  • Android 8.1 Oreo
  • 2159 mAh battery
  • 133.6 x 67.78 x 9.5 mm
  • 131 g
  • Php3,990

 

Samsung Galaxy J2 Core

 

  • 5.0-inch TFT display @ 540 x 960 resolution
  • 1.4GHz Samsung Exynos 7570 CPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD card up to 256GB
  • 8MP f/2.2 rear camera
  • 5MP f/2.2 front camera
  • 4G LTE
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby (SIM1 Locked to Smart/TNT/Sun)
  • WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.2
  • GPS, Glonass, Beidou
  • microUSB
  • Android Oreo (Go Edition)
  • 2,600mAh battery
  • 143.4 x 72.1 x 8.9 mm
  • 154g
  • Php4,999 (Smart-exclusive)

 

Stand out from the crowd

Be it bigger batteries, dual speakers, or dual cameras, these budget phones offer something unique at an affordable price point. Take a look at some of them here:

Cherry Mobile Flare A2 (LTE Connectivity, Snapdragon Chip)

  • 5-inch display
  • 1.1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 210
  • Adreno 304 GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD up to 32GB
  • 8MP rear camera with LED Flash
  • 2MP front camera
  • 4G LTE
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby
  • WiFi
  • Bluetooth
  • GPS, A-GPS
  • CherryOS 3.0 (Android 8.1 Oreo – GO Edition)
  • 2000mAh battery
  • Php2,999

 

Cherry Mobile Flare S7 Lite (Dual rear cameras)

  • 5.5-inch Trueview 18:9 Display
  • 1.3GHz quad-core CPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage
  • microSD up to 32GB
  • 8MP + 2MP dual rear cameras
  • 5MP front camera
  • Android Oreo (Go Edition)
  • PHP 3,299

Cherry Mobile Flare S7 Power (5000mAh battery, Triple SIM)

  • 5.45-inch Trueview 18:9 Display
  • 1.3GHz quad-core CPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage
  • microSD up to 256GB
  • 8MP + 2MP dual rear cameras
  • 5MP + 2MP dual front cameras
  • Triple SIM
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Android Oreo 8.1
  • 5,000mAh battery
  • PHP 3,699

Cherry Mobile Flare S7 Max (Dual Speakers)

  • 5.7-inch HD+ Trueview 18:9 Display
  • 1.3GHz quad-core CPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 16GB storage
  • microSD up to 128GB
  • 13MP rear camera
  • 5MP front camera
  • Dual Speaker
  • Android Oreo (Go Edition)
  • PHP 3,699

CM Flare S7 Prime (13MP selfie camera)

  • 5.5-inch HD+ Trueview 18:9 Display
  • 1.3GHz quad-core CPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage
  • microSD up to 64GB
  • 13MP rear camera
  • 13MP front camera
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Android Oreo (Go Edition)
  • PHP 3,999

Starmobile UP Extreme (Tough display)

  • 5-inch HD display @ 1280 x 720px
  • 2.5D XtremeScreen
  • MediaTek MT6580 1.5GHz quad-core CPU
  • Mali400MP GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 16GB storage
  • microSD up to 32GB
  • 8MP AF rear camera, LED flash
  • 8MP FF front camera, dual flash
  • Dual-SIM
  • Dual 3G Switching
  • WiFi
  • Bluetooth
  • FM Radio
  • GPS, A-GPS
  • USB OTG
  • Android 7.0 Nougat
  • 2,300mAh battery
  • 144 x 71.5 x 9.6 mm
  • 178 g
  • Matte Black, Space Gray, Champagne Gold
  • Php3,999

MyPhone myNX1 (Notched display)

  • 6.18-inch FWVGA+ 19:9 IPS display
  • 1.3GHz Spreadtrum SC7731E
  • Mali 400 MP2 GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD
  • 8MP AF rear camera
  • 5MP front camera
  • 3G HSPA+
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby
  • WiFi
  • Bluetooth
  • GPS
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition)
  • 2950mAh battery
  • Colors: Silver, Violet, Gold, Blue
  • Php4,299

Battle of the Tall displays

Local brands are in it to offer 18:9 displays at price points the common Juan can reach. Here are our top picks.

myPhone myX1

  • 4.95-inch 18:9 IPS display @ 960 x 480 px, 217ppi
  • 1.2GHz Quad-Core Spreadtrum SC7731C
  • Mali-400MP1 GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD, up to 64GB
  • 5MP AF rear camera with LED Flash
  • 5MP front camera
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby
  • 3G
  • WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • GPS
  • USB OTG
  • Android 7.0 Nougat
  • 2150mAh battery
  • Php2,599

Cherry Mobile Flare S7 Mini

  • 5-inch Trueview 18:9 Display
  • 1.3GHz quad-core CPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage
  • microSD up to 64GB
  • 8MP rear camera
  • 2MP front camera
  • Android Oreo (Go Edition)
  • PHP 2,699

Starmobile Play Click LTE

 

  • 5-inch 18:9 display, 2.5D Glass
  • 1.4GHz Spreadtrum SC9832E chip
  • Mali-T820 GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD up to 32GB
  • 8MP AF rear camera with LED Flash
  • 5MP front camera
  • 4G LTE (with VoLTE support)
  • Dual SIM (nano), Dual standby
  • WiFi
  • Bluetooth
  • GPS
  • Android 8.1 Oreo (GO version)
  • 2150mAh battery
  • 139.7 x 65.8 x 10.2 mm
  • 136g
  • Colors: Black, Gold
  • Php2,998 (Smart/TNT-locked)

Cherry Mobile Omega Lite 4

 

  • 5-inch FWVGA+ 18:9 IPS display @ 960 x 480px
  • 1.3GHz Quad Core MediaTek MT6580
  • Mali-400MP2 GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD up to 64GB
  • 8MP AF rear camera with LED Flash
  • 5MP front camera
  • 3G HSPA+
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby
  • WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • GPS
  • Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition)
  • 2000mAh battery
  • Php2,999

 

Cloudfone Thrill Boost 3

  • 5.45-inch FWVGA+ IPS display @ 960 x 480 px, 197 ppi
  • 2.5 curved glass
  • 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6580M chip
  • Mali-400 GPU
  • 1GB LPDDR2 RAM
  • 8GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD card up to 64GB
  • 5MP FF rear camera with LED Flash
  • 5MP AF front camera with LED Flash
  • 3G HSPA+
  • Dual SIM (micro), Dual standby
  • WiFi b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • GPS, A-GPS
  • Android 7 Nougat
  • 2500mAh battery (removable)
  • 148.8 mm x 71.8 mm x 8.96 mm
  • 175g
  • Php2,999

 

The Budget Powerhouses

Lastly, we have this year’s roster of sub-Php5k powerhouses — these are said to deliver good performance at the given price point.

Xiaomi Redmi 5A

  • 5-inch HD IPS display, 294ppi
  • 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 quad-core CPU
  • Adreno 308 GPU
  • 2GB RAM
  • 16GB storage
  • MicroSD up to 128GB
  • 13MP f/2.2 rear camera w/ LED flash
  • 5MP f/2.0 front camera
  • Dual-SIM (nano, hybrid)
  • 4G LTE
  • WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.1
  • GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
  • Ir blaster
  • 3,000mAh battery
  • MIUI 9 (based on Android 7.1 Nougat)
  • 140.4 x 70.1 x 8.35mm, 137g
  • Champagne Gold, Rose Gold, Grey
  • Php4,590

Cherry Mobile Flare S7

 

  • 5.5-inch IPS LCD 18:9 TrueView display @ 1440 x 720px
  • 1.3GHz Quad-core MediaTek MT6739WA
  • PowerVR GE8100 GPU
  • 2GB/3GB RAM
  • 16GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD card up to 128GB
  • 13MP+2MP BSI rear cameras with LED Flash
  • 13MP+2MP BSI front cameras with Flash
  • 4G LTE with Band 28 support
  • Dual SIM (Nano), Dual Standby
  • WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.2
  • GPS, A-GPS
  • Fingerprint Scanner
  • USB Type-C
  • Android 8.1 Oreo
  • 2,400mAh battery (removable)
  • 150.3 x 72 x 9.2mm (dimensions)
  • 185g (size)
  • Php4,599 (2GB), Php4,999 (3GB)

 

Cherry Mobile Omega HD Duo

  • 5.2-inch HD display @ 1280 x 720px
  • 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6737V quad-core processor
  • 2GB RAM
  • 16GB internal storage
  • expandable via MicroSD
  • 13MPl f/2.2 + VGA rear cameras with LED Flash
  • 8MP f/2.4 front camera with LED flash
  • 4G LTE
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby
  • WiFi
  • Bluetooth
  • GPS, A-GPS
  • fingerprint scanner
  • 2650mAh battery
  • Android Oreo 8.1
  • Php4,999

myPhone myx9

  • 5.45-inch 18:9 HD+ IPS display @ 1040 x 720px
  • 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6739
  • IMG PowerVR GE8100 GPU
  • 2GB RAM
  • 16GB internal storage
  • expandable via microSD
  • 13MP + VGA dual rear cameras with LED Flash
  • 5MP front camera
  • 4G LTE
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby
  • WiFi
  • Bluetooth
  • GPS
  • Fingerprint Scanner
  • Face Unlock
  • Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition)
  • 2600mAh battery
  • Colors: Blue, Black
  • Php4,999

That’s it for this year’s holiday guide for devices under five grand. Did your favorite budget phone make it on the list? Let us know what we missed at the comments section below.

Check out other Holiday Gift Guide 2018 articles here:

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